Infant sleeping garment with posterior posture pad



e 1969 F. L. POLLEY INFANT SLEEPING GARMENT WITH POSTERIOR POSTURE PAD Filed Nov. 9, 196? 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG 2 FIG 3 INVENTOR. ROBERT F. L. POL

ATTORNEYS Dec. 23, 1969 F. L. oLLsY 3,485,241

INFANT SLEEPING GARMENT WITH POSTERIOR POSTURE PAD Filed Nov. 9, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG 5 INVENTOR. ROBERT L. POLLEY awew AT TORNEYS United States Patent 3,485,241 INFANT SLEEPING GARMENT WITH POSTERIOR POSTURE PAD Robert F. L. Policy, 821 McGilvra Blvd. 13., Seattle, Wash. 98102 Filed Nov. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 681,649 Int. Cl. A61f /37; A41d 9/00 U.S. Cl. 128135 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Of the three positions that an infant can take when sleeping, i.e. sleeping on its side or supine (fiat on its back) or prone (on its abdomen), it would be preferred that the infant sleep on its side. This is so because an infant sleeping either supine or prone will naturally turn its head to one side or the other thereby producing an undesirable 90 twist or torsion to the infants neck and upper respiratory tract. However, an infant placed on its side will soon become sufficiently active to learn to kick itself over onto its back, considerably sooner than it develops the capability to roll onto its abdomen in prone position. And, because most infants become creatures of habit regarding their sleeping positions, an infant who has learned to roll over onto its back will adopt the habit of sleeping on its back. Since it is thought to be undesirable to permit an infant to sleep supine (flat on its back) routinely, mothers of newborns are encouraged to place the infant on its stomach to develop the habit of sleeping prone, despite the 90 twist thus effected.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an infant sleeping garment with a posterior posture pad designed to position a sleeping infant, wearing the garment, on its side. This and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sleeping infant wearing the garment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a posterior view in perspective of one garment embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross section of a posterior posture pad taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a posterior view in perspective of another garment embodiment of this invention; and

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate three alternative garment embodiments of this invention whereby detachable posture pads can be attached to the back of an infant sleeping garment.

' In brief, this invention is an infant sleeping garment provided with an elongated posture pad posteriorly-attached to the garment longitudinally thereof. The posture pad is preferably cross sectionally smaller, side-to-side and front-to-back, than the shoulder width of the garment such that a sleeping infant wearing the garment will be positioned with its shoulders inclined at an acute angle from the mattress surface, on the order of 45 to 60, rather than at a 90 angle. Thus, an infant wearing the garment of this invention will not be induced to sleep strictly on its side but rather will be induced to sleep against the posture pad in a tilted back position that is neither perpendicular nor horizontal to the mattress.

The posterior posture pad may be of any suitable configuration such as rectangular or cylindrical, and one or both end sections may be rounded or tapered. The posture pad is preferably of a length to extend between the lower back or tail bone and a point between the shoulder blades such that the entire back region of the infant will be adequately supported by the posture pad. In general posture pads having a cross-sectional dimension from front-to-back of between about three and six inches and a longitudial length of between about eight and twelve inches would be suitably sized to meet the requirements of infants up to an age where use of the posture pad would be no longer necessary.

Referring, now, to the figures, FIGURE 1 depicts a sleeping infant wearing a sleeping garment 10 provided with a posterior posture pad 12. The size of the pad, relative to the garment, is such that the infant is tilted back slightly with his shoulders not quite perpendicular to the mattress. Thus, the infant is lying with one ear flat against the mattress with his chest and thorax in line with the direction of the jaw and chin so that the larynx and trachea are in a neutral, or non-twisted, position. The posture pad may be constructed of any suitably resilient material such as resilient foam rubber, resilient synthetic material, or even an inflatable balloon. The pad may be rectangular as shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 5-7 or it may be cylindrical as shown in FIG. 4.

FIGS. 2 and 3 depict a sleeping garment wherein a pouch 14, extending from the shoulder blades to the area of the lower back and tailbone, is seamed or otherwise attached to the back of the garment and is provided with a zipper 16 such that the resilient material of the posture pad can be removed when the sleeping garment is to be cleaned. Instead of a zipper, the pouch opening could be provided with several closure snaps or buttons. The closable opening could be provided at either side of the pouch rather than along the pouch midline depicted in FIG. 2.

The posture pad could be detachable from the garment as depicted in FIG. 5 by providing several snap fasteners 18 or the like on the back of the garment and on the posture pad. Further, the posture pad could be removably contained within a pouch 14 that is itself detachably fastened to the back of the garment by suitable snap fasteners 18, as shown in FIG. 6, or by a zipper 19, as shown in FIG. 7. In any of the above embodiments calling for a closure means or attachment means, the contact fastener commonly called a Talon zipper would also be suitable.

The sleeping garment material and pouch material would be of standard quality, with elasticized material or heavy construction being possibly provided around the garment shoulders to withstand laundering and tension effect of the posture pad.

It is believed that the invention will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of my now-preferred illustrated embodiment. Changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is accordingly my intention that no limitations be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given the broadest interpretation to which the employed language fairly admits.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In combination with an infant sleeping garment, an elongated posture pad posteriorly-mounted to the sleeping garment said pad being of sufiicient front-to-back thickness to hold an infant on its side and tilted back at less than a ninety degree angle with respect to the mattress and wherein said posture pad extends between the shoulder and lower back areas of said garment.

2. The combination of claim 1 including fastening means whereby said posture pad is detachably mounted directly to said garment.

3. The combination of claim 1 including a pouch mounted to said'garment and adapted to contain said posture pad. 7

4. The-combination of claim 3 including fastening means whereby said pouch is detachably mounted to said garment.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said posture pad extends between the shoulder and lower back areas of said garment.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said posture pad has a cross-sectional dimension, front-to-back, of between about three and six inches and a longitudinal length between about eight and twelve inches.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

